Chapter 12 - The Night Thomas Died
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Nora asked, “What happened the night my father died?”
Adrian sank into the chair beside her bed. “I got a call from Victor. He said your dad had been in an accident and I should keep you calm until the police got there.”
“You told me you heard it from the hospital.”
“I know.”
“Why did you lie?”
“Victor told me Thomas had been driving recklessly. He said if I repeated that part, you'd blame yourself for arguing with him earlier.”
Nora pushed herself upright. “My father wasn't driving. He was walking home from the diner.”
“I learned that the next morning.”
“And you still didn't tell me Victor called?”
Adrian looked down. “I didn't know it mattered.”
Nora turned her face away. It was worse than another betrayal. It was proof of how easily he'd accepted the family's version of her life.
Detective Jackson arrived with an investigator named Leah Grant. They collected the threatening note, took statements, and showed Nora the ballroom's unedited security video, obtained from the venue.
There it was: Vanessa stepping into Nora's path as Nora tried to reach Lily. Vanessa caught Nora's arm, jerked it sharply, and shoved her when Nora pulled away. Nora fell. The rest was exactly as Lily had described.
Nora covered her mouth. “I remember her grabbing me. I kept wondering if I'd slipped afterward.”
“You didn't,” Jackson said.
The detective explained that police were investigating the assault and associated threats, while financial investigators examined the foundation records. She was careful not to promise an arrest before the evidence was complete.
“There's something you should know,” Leah added. “Thomas Bennett reported irregularities before he died. We found an old case reference.”
“Was his death investigated?” Nora asked.
“As an accident. We're asking new questions.”
Leah set a photograph on the bedside table. It showed a pedestrian crossing at night. A dark vehicle was visible at the edge of the frame.
“Traffic cameras caught this about four minutes before the collision,” she said.
Adrian leaned forward. His stomach dropped.
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The vehicle belonged to Victor Shaw's private security company.
